Tucson: Global Solar Sees Efficiency Improvements

Thin-film producer Global Solar reaches photovoltaic milestones

By Tom Beal

ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Tucson-based Global Solar Energy, Inc. has set a benchmark of 15.45 percent efficiency for the thin-film photovoltaic material it produces at plants in Tucson and Germany, according to the Department of Energy’s National Renewable En­ergy Laboratory in Golden, Colo.

More importantly, said Tim Teich, vice presi­dent of sales and marketing for Global Solar En­ergy, Inc., the firm is now consistently manufac­turing a product with an efficiency of 11.7 percent — an achievement that makes it competitive with traditional silicon panels.

Silicon panels generally convert 15 to 16 per­cent of the sunlight striking them into electricity, said Teich.

Global Solar’s thin film, which uses a com­pound known as CIGS or Copper Indium Galli­um diSelenide deposited on a thin steel substrate, can be produced more cheaply, said Teich, and doesn’t have to be as efficient as silicon panels.

To date, thin-film has been used in portable niche products or enclosed in glass cases much like conventional solar panels. In the near future, said Teich, the product’s flexibility will be fully exploited and incorporated into building materi­als, allowing the entire expanse of a building’s roof to generate electricity.

Earlier this year, Dow Chemical opened a plant that is using Global Solar’s thin film and integrat­ing solar cells with shingles.

Teich said the downturn in housing might de­lay things a bit, but he expects home builders seeking a green niche will begin using the materi­al when production housing comes back.

Teich said Global Solar is also in negotiations with other building-products companies.

The Renewable Energy lab’s reading of 15.45 percent efficiency came after the lab coated ma­terial produced at Global Solar Energy, Inc. facili­ties in Tucson and Germany, Teich said. In a news release, NREL called it “a signifi­cant achievement for such rapid deposition on a metal foil substrate in a manufacturing environment.”

In business since 1996, Global Solar Energy, Inc. recently retooled, opening new plants in Tucson and Germany.

With 200 employees, it was listed for the first time this year in the Star 200 ranking of Southern Arizona’s largest employers.

Contact reporter Tom Beal at 573-4158 or teal@azstarnet.com